Onto the second of our two new additions, we welcome back Pie Are Squared who provided the thirteenth instalment of our Home Diaries series, which was entitled ‘muri‘. Pie Are Squared is Ravenna, Italy based Egyptian artist Mohammed Ashraf, who has released with labels such as Handstitched*, Eilean and Lost Children. Con Calma has been mastered by Ian Hawgood and is a personal album that Mohammed originally created from lengthy loops, designed to give him an escape route from the mundane world of office work. The album makes use of beautiful, serene soundscapes for daydreaming, joined by light distortion at times for added texture.
The album will be released on Saturday the 25th of July with no pre-order. If you join our mailing list using the link below, we’ll make sure you’re the first to hear.
Our low-run releases will be made available suddenly without official release dates, meaning they’re likely to sell out fast. The best way to keep informed is to join our mailing list which can be located through our website menu or you can click HERE
https://whitelabrecs.bandcamp.com/album/con-calma
press release
“Pie Are Squared is Italy-based Egyptian musician Mohammed Ashraf. He has previously released music through labels such as Handstitched*, Lost Children and on Eilean Records as Śruti, his collaboration with Omar El Abd. Some of you may also recall this year’s ‘muri’, which was the 13th addition to our Home Diaries Series.
‘Con Calma’ is a serene album for quiet contemplation, as minimalist tones glide and encourage a sense of detachment. It began as Mohammed gathered recordings on his mobile phone whilst travelling, which were later fed through various chains of effects. Guitars and a range of utilities were used to craft these lulling tones, with the wealth of source and detail somehow liquefying into a collection of daydreams.
These reveries were assembled from lengthy loop sessions, which Mohammed listened to for almost a year to help him detach from the mundane office routine. He wanted this work to be a form of escapism, yet free from anxiety; a slow, calm exit.
Con Calma is not completely weightless and feather-lite; at times the light abrasion of distortion joins the wash, to add texture. The album is best enjoyed with the tracks played in sequence, as they envelope you into a sense of contemplation, starting from humble, quiet beginnings, journeying through air and rail in ‘Flügezüge’, onto more than a hint of stormy seas towards the second half, before closing with the daze of its final moments in ‘Away, World, Away’.”
credits
Written and produced by Mohammed Ashraf
Mastered by Ian Hawgood
Photography by Mohammed Ashraf
Packaging design by Harry Towell
whitelabrecs.com 